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by DYLAN NOLAN
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Columbia, South Carolina field office has established a tip-gathering webpage in support of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) as it continues to investigate last weekend’s shootings at S.C. State University.
S.C. State’s Orangeburg, S.C. campus was locked down on October 4, 2025 following two separate shootings which led to the death of a female victim and the hospitalization of a male victim.
The decedent was identified as 19-year-old Jaliyah Butler of Saluda, S.C.
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While no one has been charged in connection with Butler’s murder, on Sunday (October 5, 2025), SLED arrested 18-year-old Matthew Daniel McCoy of Blythewood, S.C. in connection with the recent spasm of violence on campus.
McCoy has been charged with pointing and presenting a firearm as well as carrying a firearm on a school campus.
Per SLED’s arrest warrant, McCoy admitted to improperly securing his Glock handgun within his vehicle while on the school’s campus – as well as discharging his firearm twice in the direction of an unidentified hoodie-clad male after witnessing two groups engaged in an altercation.
McCoy was granted a $37,000 surety bond by Orangeburg County magistrate James Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker was appointed to his post by S.C. governor Henry McMaster in 2022.
McCoy has posted bond and is now back on the streets under GPS monitoring.
McCoy’s attorney, Ally Benevento, emphasized to FITSNews that her client was not arrested in connection with Butler’s killing.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of everyone impacted by the violence on S.C. State’s campus, including Jaliyah Butler, who was tragically killed in an unrelated shooting on campus during last weekend’s homecoming celebration,” Benevento said, adding her client “faces charges which are completely unrelated Ms. Butler’s death.”
“We look forward to resolving the case in the coming months,” Benevento said.
In a news conference on Sunday, university president Alexander Conyers confirmed that neither the victims nor McCoy are S.C. State students.
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In the immediate aftermath of the shootings, SLED public information director Renée Wunderlich told FITSNews the two incidents were believed to be unrelated to one another.
Wunderlich confirmed to this news outlet on Thursday (October 9,2025) that SLED still believes the shootings were unrelated, and that the agency’s two investigations were “active and ongoing.”
Meanwhile, the FBI urged “anyone with cellphone video or any other multimedia recordings of the incidents,” to upload their recordings to www.fbi.gov/scstateuniversityshootings.
Information outside of digital media may be provided to SLED at 866-472-8477 or tips@sled.sc.gov.
S.C. State is the only public, four-year HBCU in the Palmetto State. The university’s roots stretch back to the creation of the South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute in 1872, which at the time was an affiliate of Orangeburg, S.C. based Claflin University. On March 3, 1896, the South Carolina General Assembly severed ties with Claflin and established the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina — the state’s first public college for black youth.
The school was renamed S.C. State in 1954.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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